How Law Firms Are Using Teneo’s Managed DEX to Stay SRA, GDPR, and Audit Ready
I wanted to share a story of a recent engagement with a law firm to highlight the strategic importance of compliance in today’s legal sector.
It started with a single email. A mid-sized law firm received a regulator’s request for evidence following a client complaint. The issue wasn’t malpractice; it was a missed filing deadline caused by a system slowdown. The firm had no audit trail to prove the delay was technical, not procedural. What followed was weeks of scrambling: piecing together logs, interviewing staff, and hoping the regulator would accept their narrative. They passed (but only just). The experience left leaders asking: How do we ensure this never happens again?
Law firms today face mounting pressure from regulators, client care frameworks, and data protection laws. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) demands demonstrable competence and accountability. GDPR enforces strict data protection principles. COLP and COFA roles carry personal responsibility for governance. And when the auditor calls, firms must prove not just intent, but hard evidence.
The challenge? Compliance lives in the details, how systems behave, how data flows, and how staff interact with technology. Traditional monitoring tools weren’t built for this reality. They tell you if a server is up, not whether an associate pasted client data into an unsanctioned AI tool or whether your case management app lagged during a critical filing deadline. That’s where Teneo’s Managed Digital Experience (DEX) changes the game.
Managed DEX provides end-to-end observability across devices, applications, and networks. It surfaces what’s often hidden: shadow SaaS adoption, rogue browser extensions, and unsanctioned AI creeping into workflows. By tracking usage patterns and correlating them with performance metrics, DEX enables IT leaders to identify compliance risks before they escalate into regulatory nightmares.
When auditors ask for evidence, screenshots and anecdotes won’t cut it. Managed DEX generates defensible audit trails, documenting system health, application behavior, and policy adherence over time. Monthly insight packs provide Risk and IT teams with the evidence they need to demonstrate due diligence under GDPR Article 32 and the SRA’s outcome-focused principles. This isn’t just about passing an audit; it’s about building a culture of accountability.
Employee monitoring is a sensitive area. ICO guidance is clear: monitoring must be transparent, proportionate, and respect privacy. Managed DEX achieves this through data minimization and scope setting. It focuses on operational signals, performance, application usage, and compliance indicators without veering into invasive surveillance. Staff know what’s monitored and why, reinforcing trust while meeting governance obligations.
For Compliance Officers for Legal Practice (COLP) and Finance and Administration (COFA), visibility is power. Managed DEX provides dashboards and alerts that highlight emerging risks, whether it’s a spike in unsanctioned AI use or abnormal device behavior that could signal a breach. This proactive stance enables firms to act before issues escalate, safeguarding both reputation and regulatory standing.
Regulators don’t care whether a network glitch or a misconfigured endpoint caused a delay. Clients often fail to distinguish between IT failure and service failure. In both cases, accountability rests with the firm. Managed DEX transforms uncertainty into actionable intelligence, enabling law firms to deliver seamless digital experiences while ensuring compliance at every step.
Bottom line: Compliance isn’t static; it’s dynamic, and so are the risks. Managed DEX provides law firms with the visibility, evidence, and governance they need to stay ahead of regulators, reassure clients, and safeguard their most valuable asset: trust.
Curious how this works in practice? Book a 30-minute Managed DEX demo and see how top law firms are using real-time insights to strengthen compliance.
Author: Brett Ayres, CTO, Teneo